2007 French Grand Prix
1 July |number = 776 |officialname = XCIII Grand Prix de France |circuit = Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours |location = Magny-Cours, France |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 4.411 |laps = 70 |distance = 308.586 |pole = Felipe Massa |polenation = BRA |poleteam = |poletime = 1:15.034 |fastestlap = 1:16.099 |fastestlapdriver = Felipe Massa |fastestlapnation = BRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 42 |winner = Kimi Räikkönen |winnernation = FIN |winnerteam = |second = Felipe Massa |secondnation = BRA |secondteam = |third = Lewis Hamilton |thirdnation = GBR |thirdteam = }} The 2007 French Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XCIII Grand Prix de France, was the eighth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours, France, on 1 July 2007.'France 2007: Raikkonen puts Ferrari back on-track.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 01/07/2007), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/59078/1/france-2007-raikkonen-puts-ferrari-back-on-track, (Accessed 15/02/2020) The race would see Kimi Räikkönen secure his second victory of the season for , having jumped teammate Felipe Massa late on. After being trounced by the two in the two North American races, Ferrari put on a strong show in qualifying, with Massa claiming pole position while Räikkönen secured third. They were, however, split by Lewis Hamilton in the #2 McLaren, while Fernando Alonso had been unable to compete in Q3 after a gearbox failure. Race morning would arrive with some tragic news, as a helicopter crash at the Magny-Cours circuit had seen three people die, including PR man Emmanuel Longobardi, pilot Pierre Bennehard and a New Zealander named Simon McGill.'Three dead after helicopter crash', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 01/07/2007), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/60377/three-dead-after-helicopter-crash, (Accessed 15/02/2020) A Bridgestone worker and his niece escaped with injuries, although there were no plans to postpone or cancel the race. After a minute's silence on the grid the field were released for the start, with Massa acing his getaway to claim an early lead. Behind, Räikkönen would get the jump on Hamilton to secure second, while Anthony Davidson hit a cautious Vitantonio Liuzzi, in a collision that saw the swing back into the side of the . Further incidents on the opening lap saw Jarno Trulli take himself out by slamming into the back of Heikki Kovalainen at Adelaide, gifting Alonso two places. Out front, meanwhile, Massa would eek out a lead ahead of Räikkönen, while Hamilton quickly pulled clear of a returning Robert Kubica in the #10 . Indeed, Kubica would form something of a bottle neck during the opening stages of the race, with the top three all escaping up the road. That hence allowed Alonso to pick his way past Nico Rosberg in Kubica's drawn out train, although the Spaniard would find Nick Heidfeld putting up a very stubborn defence. Heidfeld's resistance would last through to the pit window, with Hamilton the first of the leaders to stop on lap sixteen. Worryingly for McLaren's hopes the two Ferraris would continue to circulate for several laps, with Massa coming in on lap nineteen, and Räikkönen lasting until lap 21. That effectively ended Hamilton's bid for victory, for the two Ferraris were able to ease clear during the second stint, with Räikkönen also drawing in Massa. Their fight would, however, be decided in the pitlane, as Alonso provided most of the on-track action by passing Heidfeld and Giancarlo Fisichella, only to slip back behind them after making an early second stop. Massa was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 43, joined in the pitlane by Hamilton, with Räikkönen inheriting the lead. Two quick laps later and the Finn was in, and would subsequently sprint out of the pits ahead of Massa to secure the race lead. With the race was over, with Räikkönen eking out a two second lead during the closing stages to claim his second win of the season. Hamilton finished a distant third to complete the podium, while Kubica claimed a lonely fourth. Heidfeld and Fisichella were next ahead of Alonso, while Jenson Button claimed a rare point for the desperately poor squad in eighth. Background Lewis Hamilton had extended his Championship lead as a result of the US Grand Prix, with his second victory in succession taking him up to 58 points for the campaign. That meant he held a ten point advantage over teammate Fernando Alonso, while Felipe Massa in third had slipped nineteen points behind in third. Kimi Räikkönen also looked to have fallen too far back to challenge in fourth, as Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel added their names to the scorer's list. In the Constructors Championship it was, unsurprisingly, who once again left a Grand Prix in with an enhanced lead, their third one-two of the campaign putting them on 106 points. hence had continued their tumble away from the lead, slipping back by 35 points, while were an even more distant third on 39. had hence made a little ground on the German-Swiss alliance, while held station in fifth once again. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Q1 Q2 Q3 Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates the fastest driver's time in each session. ** Sato was handed a retroactive ten place grid penalty for causing a collision at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. Grid ** Sutil started the race from the pitlane. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. Milestones * Kimi Räikkönen secured his eleventh career victory.'8. France 2007', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/france.aspx, (Accessed 15/02/2020) ** Also Räikkönen's 40th podium finish. * secured their 196th win as a constructor and engine supplier. * Lewis Hamilton registered the 170th podium finish for as an engine supplier. Standings Victory for Kimi Räikkönen moved the Finn closer to the fight for second, with both himself and teammate Felipe Massa closing in on Fernando Alonso. Out front, meanwhile, an eighth consecutive podium finish had allowed rookie racer Lewis Hamilton to extend his Championship lead, the Brit leaving France on 64 points, and with fourteen points in hand over his teammate. Elsewhere, Nick Heidfeld had consolidated fifth ahead of Robert Kubica, as Jenson Button added his name to the score sheet. In the Constructors Championship it had finally been a strong afternoon for , with their one-two ending streak of race victories. However, the Scuderia remained 25 points behind the leaders leaving Magny-Cours, with the two manufacturers sharing four wins apiece after the opening eight races. Behind, were in a lonely third ahead of , while 's first points of the campaign meant it was just and who had yet to score in . Only points scoring drivers and constructors are shown. ** Includes points scored by before their exclusion prior to the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:2007 Grands Prix Category:French Grand Prix